Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Today we had a fabulous field trip day with our workshop group. It started with a trip to a ceramics store where we were able to look at all the wonderful pieces of art. This building was massive and the casting and painting rooms were in the back of the store. There was a man there who has been painting at this store for 50 years. His pieces of art are the more detailed paintings on the ceramics. He has made beautiful scenes on many murals and pieces of clay that are just unbelievable. This business started 3 generations ago and the grandson is the one who runs the business now. All the pieces of bisque that we saw in the back room are created from just two men who throw the clay on the wheel. It took the man there only 2 minutes to create a bowl.

A sampling of this beautiful craft.....

A mural made out of ceramic tiles pieced together to make this scene...... Giovanni the grandson dipping the bisque into the glaze...... In the painting room a man puts detail onto the vase..... The master painters work area of color..... Another painter....... Some pieces finished in the store....... One of two clay throwers........This man is the "master painter" of 50 years......Some bisque bowls.......After the ceramics tour we were onto the olive grove where this grove has also been around for 3 generations. I would have to say hands down that the meal we shared with this family was the best of all the trip. You felt honoured to break bread with this family - such a gracious family. The best part of the meal that was in an endless supply was the fire roasted bread with fresh olive oil poured all over it with salt. It was magnifico! Our next course was home made lentils that tasted so good - next, arugula with beef strips - then, bruschetta with fresh tomatoes - more fire roasted bread - fresh fruit and biscotti - and of course an endless supply of wine. But the crowning touch was the cherries and grapes soaked in the homemade grappa that the grandpa made. Boy does it hit you like a ton of bricks right away! It was a special day spent on a special farm with this family.

The grandson explains to us how the olives are crushed to make the olive oil...

Arugula and beef.......Homemade biscotti.....Fresh fruit.....Milliande loves her plums......The group enjoying the feast......Nobody wanted to take credit for the cooking of the meal - here is the grandma, daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law.....

Next on our trip was a visit to a grape vineyard and winery. As if we already did not have enough wine to drink at the olive grove, we were about to taste some more fantastic merlots. This vineyard was very typical of the others in this area - owned and operated by another family by numerous generations. Listening to the process of the wine making was very interesting and such a step by step system which one does not get to see and taste the final product for many years after.

A vineyard vignette......

A view of the rows of grapes..... One of the rows....... Clusters of grapes that will eventually produce the merlot.....Here he explains how this piece of cork bark will eventually be cut up into the corks for the wine bottles.....

This day was very full and by the end of it (8pm) I was ready for a snooze! So, once in the van it was slumber time for the hour ride back to our hotel. Ciao for now!!

Friday, September 5, 2008

They call this building "The Wedding Cake"The P'azza Navone....Fountain in P'azza Navone....Nice bum where are you from.......

The Colloseum ruins......

The Colloseum......

More......

Front view of colloseum.....

Fountain where.......We cooled our aching feet off.....

Fountain near the Pantheon.....

Bear with me now because this is a long post full of lots of pictures. Wanted to get most of them posted before the Cortona ones. Saw many sights, smelled and tasted wonderful food, and am having the time of my life.

Wow.....finally made it to Rome and what a view and what sights there are to see! The plane ride was way tooooo loooonnnggg and my knees and feet and ankles hurt. They do not make much leg room for us tall people!

Once I landed in Rome a driver from the hotel came and picked me up to drive me to the hotel. I arrived there at about 9am and quickly had a shower after being on airplanes for 15 hours. Brandon (my son) arrived at about 10:30 and we started on our venture for the day. The hotel is very nice and they are very gracious. Hotel Campo de Fiori is the name and they have hotel rooms and apartments. Our apartment is on the 2nd floor and has a kitchen, bathroom and bed/living room. It is very hot in this apartment because there is no air conditioning - once I come back from Cortona I will be staying here once again for 2 nights and I will have a hotel room complete with air conditioning and all the amenties!

Our day started with a long walk to the pantheon, forum, and collosseo. The day was very hot and we were outside all day long. We also went to the fountain of trevi and the piazza navone. Luckily along the way to one of the points we came across this fountain where we were able to cool our aching feet and just relax for awhile. Seeing these things was an all day affair and we treated ourselves with a great italian dinner.

Next day we were going to get up early to do the vatican thing, but our alarm never went off so we spent the day walking again to some shopping areas and then to an art gallery that was way up on a hill.......it never seemed like we were going to make it there because I never saw an end in sight! Finally we arrived and saw many works of art that are all preserved in this gallery. After spending a couple of hours there, we made the trek back down the hill to where we boarded a city bus to take us back to our hotel area. We had a nap and then went to a small trattoria for a traditional Italian dinner. It was fantastic!

Next day, The Vatican. We woke up early to be at the Basillica by 7:00am. This church is nothing like any other I have seen. Even the Notre Dame in Montreal does not come close in comparison. So many marble statues, painted murals, bronze carvings, etc. It amazes the eye. After touring the basillica, we then went and purchased our tickets to walk up to the dome. My son conveniently did not tell me about how many stairs we would have to climb to reach the top. 320!! A very narrow, spiral staircase leading up to the top of the dome (which is the top of the basillica) and I must say a very great place to view all of Rome. I have proof that I made it up there......notice the photo with skyline in background! Next, on to the museums of the Vatican. I have never in my life seen so many statues! So many tapestries! So many murals! So many oil paintings! And, the Sistine Chapel painted by Michealangelo is breathtaking. Too many people in the chapel though to really get to see all of it.

Things I like about Rome: the sights, the fountains, people watching, gelato, cappuccinos, authentic Italian food like my grandmother used to make, the wine, the beer, the caprese salad (fresh motzarella cheese, basil, and tomatoes with balsamic vinegar and olive oil), french bread dipped in balsamic vinegar and olive oil, the shoes, the shops, the weather minus the humidity.

Things I do not like about Rome: rude people, cobblestone roads and sidewalks (when I first sighted them I thought they were so quaint and cute.......but after walking on them for 10 hours a day, the quaintness fades with the painful, swelling, elephant looking feet and ankles and legs that show up because of the heat and hot cobblestone roads.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Well, the first leg of the trip has passed....I have made it to Toronto airport feeling a little refreshed as I had a good nap on the flight. Now just a 2 hour layover and then just another 9 hours on another plane! I am going to try and sleep as much as possible so that I can survive the first day there without feeling tired. I don't know what my son has planned for the day....hopefully nothing that is too far of walking distance. I plan to get to my hotel, shower, change clothes and be on our way to sightseeing. Maybe not the Vatican the first day....maybe the colliseum ruins and some churches..maybe some shopping!

I am feeling that I may have packed too much stuff in my carry-ons because my shoulders are hurtin' now. I never got the "pack light" thing to a science!

A couple of weekends ago we spent the day at the lake with my parents and my sister and her husband. The weather forecast for the day wasn't looking good but we went anyway. Well, when we arrived there it turned out to be a great day full of sunshine and warm lake water - 75 degrees to swim in! This was a day on the lake to celebrate my mom's birthday for this year. It was a great day to be on a boat!

Andy showing off.....

Lola with the wind in her hair.....Dad taking his turn as the driver.......

Becca and Melissa having a good time tubing.......

Look at Melissa's face!!!Becca and me enjoying the day.....Awwww......the two girls......Give me a kiss......Becca and grandma in the sunshine......Cheers!!!

I hope we have many more times to share on this boat.....it seats up to 16 people!! Maybe they can bring it up to Canada and enjoy our 60 degree lake water that is glacier fed! I don't think that them Americans would last!